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KFT (Korlátolt Felelősségű Társaság)

About:

KFT [The Limited Liability Partnership]) was formed in 1981 by four musicians András Laár (former guitar player in progrock and Phanta Rei), Tibor Bornai, Miklós Lengyel II and András Márton.

In the year of their formation the band immediately won two awards in Hungary's largest musical event, the Hungarian Television's Dance and Pop Song Festival. Their hit tune, 'Bábu vagy' ('You're a puppet'), performed in costume, with painted faces and puppet-like choreography and a new wave sound, made them known throughout the country. In the four months following their television debut, the band performed over two hundred concerts by invitation around the country. Their debut album 'Macska az úton' ('Cat on the road') did very well in the charts. 

Kft demonstrated its attraction toward theatrical props in scenes of the absurd along with poetry, which they incorporated into their concerts - and which remains their hallmark. Their third album 'Bál az Operában' was the stepping stone to a theatre project. The play, first performed at the center for movement (alternative) theater in Hungary, the Szkéné Theater. András Laár is also the founder of the theater of the absurd in Hungary.

In addition to their fondness for theatrical elements, Kft also uses the latest technology on hand. During the middle of the 1980s the band developed a multi-media computer program to accompany the album 'Siker, pénz. nők, csillogás'. In 1988 the group demised after releases the album 'Édes élet'.

In 1996 they remerged with a huge concert at the Budapest Sports Arena before an audience of 15 thousand 'Bál az Interneten' ('A ball on the internet'). The concert was also featured on the internet in a time that there was only one person in the entire country involved in the official registration of domain names. www.kft.hu was in fact the first nationally advertised domain name in Hungary. The unusualness of the event is marked by the fact that the government's Minister of Communications accepted to be its primary patron.

In  2001 singer and songwriter Tibor Bornai was awarded the year's best lyricist for his lyrics on the album 'Éljen a szerelem'. Allegedly the band is still working on a cooperative effort is to premier a new album in outer space. Within the framework of the 'Cosmic call' program, alongside messages from Sir Arthur C. Clarke, David Bowie, Greg Lake and astronaut Sally Ride, Kft's songs will begin their journey in the universe (compositions by Laár, Bornai and Márton). 'Cosmic call' will broadcast 'civilian' messages also; at this time, nearly one hundred thousand people have registered from 53 countries around the world.

In the meantime they released a ' normal’ album in 2006 with the title 'Nem csupa angyal'.

On the web:

- KFT's website: http://kft.hu
- KFT-pages on website of record company: www.danubiusmusic.com

If you like this, you probably like... / european counterparts:

Renato Zero (Italy)

Bijelo Dugme (FRS Yugoslavia)

Pražský výběr (Czech Republic & Slowakia)

What do we think:

DB: The store I plucked two albums of this band from filed it under 'eastern europe progrock'. Expecting another version of Locomotiv TG or Omega KFT came as a pleasant suprise. Much more pop then progrock they remind me more of the later work of Zappa then King Crimson. Their 1983 album is a brilliant form of Magyar New Wave. And not hig brow at all although the theatre link gives that expectation. Too bad i can't understand the lyrics. And the first-band-on-the-net story is of course a great one.

Recommended albums:

♪♪♪ - Macska az úton - 1981

♪♪♪♪♪ - Üzenet a liftből/ A fodrász - 1983

♪♪♪♪- Bál az Operában - 1984

♪♪♪ - Édes élet 1988

♪♪♪ - Bál az Interneten - 1996

Further listening:

Siker, pénz. nők, csillogás - 1986; Ég és Föld - 1987; Éljen a szerelem 2000; Higiénikus ember 2003; Nem csupa angyal 2006

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♪♪♪♪♪ = outstanding album, an absolute must-have
♪♪♪♪ = great album, highly recomended
♪♪♪ = nice album
♪♪ = be careful, requires listening before buying
♪ = best to be avoided